I’m told today of a public forum happening this Wednesday on the amalgamation of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Ireland and the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork.
The event is being organised by IMMA both as a means of exploring further the possible impact of the decision on the Museum and in response to the many queries which IMMA has received on the subject from visitors, artists, collectors and other stakeholders.
The forum aims to provide a cross section of perspectives on the amalgamation, both for and against, from a wide-ranging panel of speakers. In addition to drawing together the various strands of opinion on the issue, it will also make available the experience of international colleagues who have operated within, or been involved in setting up, an amalgamated structure and will give interested parties within Ireland the opportunity to contribute to the debate.
This talk is going to be really interesting for the arts and arts organisations in Ireland - watching what happens with these, and then with the budget in December, is going to direct how the arts is perceived in Ireland and abroad. In addition, it gives people their chance to have their say in what future the organisation should take and to share their ideas or experiences in what will happen.
Some of the speakers include Michael Houlihan, the Director General of the National Museum of Wales; Sune Nordgren, Founding Director of the Oslo National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design; Pat Cooke, the Director of the School of Art History and Cultural Policy in UCD and Enrique Junocsa, the Director of IMMA.
Want to attend? Admission is free but HURRY! - click on this link as soon as possible - booking closes tonight.
I’m looking forward to finding out what happens at this meeting. Certainly going to be one to watch.
